Driver faces DWI count in shelter crash

New bus shelter wrecked hours before congressman was to talk

by JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST Staff writer

Updated 8:36 am, Wednesday, October 19, 2011

This sedan crashed into the Capital District Transportation Authority bus stop near 900 Central Ave., Albany, on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. (Tom Heffernan Sr. / Special to the Times Union)

This sedan crashed into the Capital District Transportation...

This sedan crashed into the Capital District Transportation Authority bus stop near 900 Central Ave., Albany, on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. (Tom Heffernan Sr. / Special to the Times Union)

This sedan crashed into the Capital District Transportation...

A sedan crashed into the Capital District Transportation Authority bus stop near 900 Central Ave., Albany, on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. (Tom Heffernan Sr. / Special to the Times Union)

A sedan crashed into the Capital District Transportation Authority...

This sedan crashed into the Capital District Transportation Authority bus stop near 900 Central Ave., Albany, on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. (Tom Heffernan Sr. / Special to the Times Union)

This sedan crashed into the Capital District Transportation...

This vehicle was damaged in a collision with another car that crashed into a Capital District Transportation Authority bus shelter at 900 Central Ave., in Albany on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. (Tom Heffernan Sr. / Special to the Times Union)

This vehicle was damaged in a collision with another car that...

This vehicle was damaged in a collision with another car that crashed into a Capital District Transportation Authority bus shelter at 900 Central Ave., in Albany on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. (Tom Heffernan Sr. / Special to the Times Union)

This vehicle was damaged in a collision with another car that...

Employees from the Capital District Transportation Authority inspect a bus shelter on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011, hours after police said a car crashed into the shelter. (JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST / TIMES UNION)

ALBANY -- A 54-year-old Guilderland man was charged with drunken driving Tuesday after he allegedly sped away from police, lost control of his vehicle and hit another car and a pedestrian before smashing through a brand-new Central Avenue bus shelter.

The pedestrian -- 45-year-old Sean Newton -- was not seriously injured but could have easily been killed had he been inside, not standing next to the now-mangled CDTA bus shelter in front of the Hannaford at 900 Central Ave., police said.

William Colclough's alleged wild ride did more than shred one of the transit authority's new rapid transit bus stops -- it forced CDTA to abruptly cancel a news conference featuring U.S. Rep. Paul D. Tonko scheduled for Tuesday morning at that very bus stop.

The incident began to unfold around 12:45 a.m., when someone reported to police that a man, possibly drunk, had been revving his car's engine for about 30 minutes in front of 30 Manning Blvd., just above Western Avenue, said James Miller, a police spokesman.

When officers arrived on the scene, the man in the car -- later identified as Colclough, of 1700 Western Ave. -- refused to roll down his window and appeared to have blood on his face, Miller said.

Colclough then allegedly threw his car into reverse, barely missing one officer, and hit a parked patrol car before speeding off on Manning.

With at least two patrol cars in pursuit, Colclough sped west on Central Avenue until he clipped a Mazda sedan waiting at a red light in front of 855 Central Ave., swerved into the eastbound lanes and then into a utility pole before hitting the Newton and careening into the shelter, Miller said.

Eight hours after the wreck, shattered pieces of headlight were still visible amid sheared-off metal and broken glass inside the shelter, where Colclough's red sedan ultimately came to rest entirely inside the structure as if it were a garage.

CDTA officials, meanwhile, were busy figuring out how to repair it.

That bus shelter -- one of the larger ones built recently to accompany the rollout of CDTA's new BusPlus rapid transit system -- was supposed to be the site Tuesday of an unveiling of new amenities for riders, such as signs that inform passengers when to expect the next bus.

The authority earlier this month received a $5.5 million federal grant to complete construction of the shelters along the 17-mile route connecting Schenectady and downtown Albany, including the addition of security cameras and emergency phone service.

Colclough, who was treated for facial injuries after the wreck, has been issued appearance tickets for misdemeanor driving while intoxicated and third-degree assault, also a misdemeanor, Miller said. He is expected to appear in court Wednesday.

Miller said the driver of the car hit by Colclough's car was not injured.

According to police and the state Department of Motor Vehicles, it wasn't the first time Colclough has been charged with an alcohol-related driving offense. On May 4, 2003, Colclough was charged with driving while intoxicated after a police officer stopped him for speeding on Rapp Road, said Guilderland Police Captain Curtis Cox.

Colclough pleaded guilty later that month to driving while ability impaired, a violation, and paid a $300 fine, said Nick Cantiello, a state DMV spokesman.

Newton was treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital for evaluation, but his injuries were not considered serious, Miller said. His condition was not immediately available late Tuesday.

The crash scene is about a mile and a half from the start of the chase. Miller said he did not know how long the chase lasted but that, given the distance, it was likely no more than a minute or two.

Miller said police are also reviewing footage from the police cruisers' in-car cameras to get a complete picture of what happened.